office (509)
738-4842Coaching - What Is It?*
Coaching is often confused with the related discipline of consulting, but they are distinctly different endeavors. Consulting involves imparting knowledge and expertise from the consultant to the client. The consultant has been successful himself in the client’s particular business sphere and can transfer the principles that he deems made him successful in that sphere to his client. So, in consulting, the expertise lies in the consultant and is conveyed to the person being coached.
In coaching, on the other hand, the coach recognizes the capability that already lies within the person being coached. The coach’s role is to help him utilize his knowledge of his business more effectively by recognizing, isolating and following certain timeless principles of business success. In the process, he will develop skills he doesn’t yet possess.
There is a reason people commonly confuse coaching with consulting and also counseling. Coaches, consultants and counselors all use some similar skills. They all use observation and questioning to achieve the desired results, and people are more familiar with counselors and consultants. However they may have limited experience or understanding of the newer field of professional coaching. Coaching demands similar skills, but differs in perspective and therefore the application of those skills.
Over time, a coach may become a mentor and a friend. The combination
of coaching—prompting discovery in yourself—and mentoring—filling in
information from experience you may not as yet have—can be a
powerful combination for success.
*Based
on an essay by Jane Creswell